God's Servants MUST Learn To Take One Step At A Time.

This is an elementary lesson; but it is hard to learn.

No doubt Elijah found it so.

Before he left Thisbe for Samaria, to deliver the message that burdened his soul, he would naturally inquire what he should do when he had delivered it.
 
How would he be received?

What would be the outcome?

Whither should he go to escape the vengeance of Jezebel, who had not shrunk from slaying with the sword prophets less dauntless than himself?

If he had asked those questions of God, and waited for a reply before he left his highland home, he would never have gone at all.

Our Father never treats His children so.

He only shows us one step at a time...

And that, the next; He bids us take it in faith.

We look up into His face and say: "But if I take this step, which is certain to involve me in difficulty, what shall I do next?"

The heavens will be dumb, save with the one repeated message, Take it, and trust Me.

But directly God's servant took the step to which he was led, and delivered the message...

Then "the word of the Lord came to him, saying: Get thee hence, hide thyself by the brook Cherith."

So it was afterwards; it was only when the brook had dried up...

And the stream had dwindled to pools...
 
And the pools to drops...

And the drops had died away in the sand...

Only then did the word of the Lord come to him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath.

I like that phrase, "the word of the Lord came to him."

He did not need to go to search for it; it came to him.

And so it will come to you.

It may come through the Word of God...

Or through a distinct impression made on your heart by the Holy Ghost...

Or through circumstances...

But it will find you out, and tell you what you are to do.

Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?

And the Lord said unto him...

Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do"

It may be that for long you have had upon your mind some strong impression of duty...

But you have held back, because you could not see what the next step would be.

Hesitate no longer.

Step out upon what seems to be the impalpable mist:

You will find a slab of adamant beneath your feet;

And every time you put your foot forward, you will find that God has prepared a stepping-stone...

And the next, and the next...each as you come to it.

The bread is by the day.

The manna is every morning.

The strength is according to the moment's need.

God does not give all the directions at once, lest we should get confused;

He tells us just as much as we can remember and do.

Then we must look to Him for more;

And so we learn, by easy stages, the sublime habits of obedience and trust.
 
~F. B. Meyer~

Do not forsake me, O Lord!

Frequently we pray that God would not forsake us in the hour of trial and temptation;

But we too much forget that we have need to use this prayer at all times.
 
There is no moment of our life, however holy in which we can do without His constant upholding.

Whether in light or in darkness,in communion or in temptation we alike need the prayer, "Do not forsake me, O Lord!"

A little child, while learning to walk always needs the parent's aid.

The ship left by the pilot drifts at once from her course.

Just so...we cannot survive without continuous aid from God.

Let it be your prayer today, "Do not forsake me, O Lord!

Father, do not forsake Your child lest he fall by the hand of the enemy.
 
Shepherd, do not forsake Your lamb lest he wander from the safety of the fold.
 
Great Gardener, do not forsake Your plant lest it wither and die!

Do not forsake me now, O Lord!

And do not forsake me at any moment of my life.

Do not forsake me in my joys lest they absorb my heart.

Do not forsake me, not in my sorrows lest I murmur against You.

Do not forsake me for my path is dangerous, and full of snares and I cannot travel without Your guidance.

Do not forsake me for without You I am weak...but with You I am strong.

Do not be far from me, O Lord, for trouble is near and there is none to help.

Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!

Psa 119:117  Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. 

~Charles Spurgeon~

Faith In God The Secret Of Courage

Come back to the word in Joshua.

Of that first generation, only two men got out of that soul realm - Joshua and Caleb.

They triumphed in and over that realm.

They triumphed in that realm first, and then the Lord brought them out...

But the fact that it was the rest of faith which was the secret of their triumph while they were in it is brought so beautifully, magnificently, to light in this fourteenth chapter of Joshua.

I think this is fine.

Caleb, one of the two, comes to Joshua.

He is an old man now, but still living by faith in the position which he took up with the Lord years before.

He took up that position when he went as one of the spies and when the great majority, the overwhelming majority, brought their evil report.

They looked at God through their circumstances;

These two men looked at their circumstances through God;

It made all the difference.

Caleb took up that position of looking at everything through God, and he is still living in that position;

And now, as an old man, he comes to Joshua, and, while all the other people are being given their inheritance in nice, easy, prosperous positions where every prospect pleases...

Caleb says, Give me this mountain where the giants are, and cities great and walled up; this hilly country; give me this mountain!

Oh, dear friends, there is a lot to be said about that, but I am going to be content with this now as following up this challenge to my heart and to yours.

What are you looking for? - an easy inheritance, a nice, workable cabbage-patch, something that is going to respond to your touch immediately and give you satisfaction?

Are you looking for the flourishing land?

The faith which brought Joshua and Caleb into rest of heart before they came into the rest of the land was this kind of faith - Give me a tough proposition!

Here is a situation full of difficulties, full of threatenings, full of adversities; why, it is almost an appalling prospect, yet nevertheless give me a chance there!

You see the challenge.

Do difficulties appall you or do they at once present a great opportunity for the Lord?

It may be that the Lord... as the Lord spake.

How are we facing the big difficulties? - and there are difficulties! there are problems! and these mountains seem to pile up upon one another as we go on.

Sometimes it seems an impossible outlook and prospect, a hopeless situation.

Perhaps for our own lives individually for some reason within ourselves or outside of ourselves, or for the work to which we are called, the ministry, the testimony that is laid upon us, it seems so utterly hopeless, the mountain is impossible.

Well, what about it?

Is it - Give me this mountain!

Nothing but a real faith in God can take things on like that, and say...

All right, it is difficult, there is no doubt about it, it is an appalling prospect naturally, a hopeless outlook...

Nevertheless let us take it on in the Name of the Lord;

If it may be that the Lord...The Lord - looking at the mountain through the Lord, and not at the Lord through the mountain.

I think that is the kind of faith that we need, that brings into rest.

A mountain - yes, it is a mountain right enough, a physical mountain, a circumstantial mountain, a mountain of outlook in the work.

Naturally we would do the right thing, the wise, common sense thing if we said, No, we are not going to touch that!

But faith says, I am not going to try and skirt that mountain, I am not going to turn my back on it and run away; give me this mountain!

I want that faith, you want it.

It is not just our natural courage, our bulldog nature, our pugnacity that will do it.

We know quite well that we have nothing; if left to ourselves, we had better quit.

But the Lord is challenging us, and Caleb does come up as a rebuke to us.

At the end of a long life when we might think that now is the time for him to be given a very nice little garden and a lodge somewhere where the work was easy and he could take his rest...

No, he says, Give me this mount wherein are the giants, the walled cities; give me this mountain!

His choice was a difficulty, because it was an opportunity for the Lord.

Probably we shall very soon be brought up against what we have been saying in very practical ways, but let us have dealings with the Lord on this.

We are going to have to face what will be naturally appalling difficulties, within and without, taking the very heart out of us...

But oh, for this quiet, restful assurance and confidence in our God which says, Give me this mountain as an opportunity for proving the Lord!

And Caleb got it - and it was Hebron, and that is another story; a very long story is Hebron.

I leave you to look that up, for Hebron has a wonderful place in the purposes of God.

David was first crowned king in Hebron before he was crowned in Jerusalem.

Hebron means 'fellowship'.

There is a great inheritance bound up with Hebron.

Hebron is secured to men and to women of this kind of faith which says, I am not wanting to escape from my difficulty and get out of my hard way;

Let me take it in the Lord's strength and give the Lord an opportunity to show that He can do what is naturally impossible.

The Lord give us that faith!

~T. Austin Sparks~

Implicit Trust

Jer 39:18  For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
 
Behold the protecting power of trust in God. 

The great men of Jerusalem fell by the sword, but poor Ebed-melech was secure, for his confidence was in Jehovah. 

Where else should a man trust but in his Maker? 

We are foolish when we prefer the creature to the Creator. 

Oh, that we could in all things live by faith, then should we be delivered in all time of danger! 

No one ever did trust in the LORD in vain, and no one ever shall.

The LORD saith, "I will surely deliver thee," Mark the divine "surely." 

Whatever else may be uncertain, God's care of believers is sure. 

God Himself is the guardian of the gracious, Under His sacred wing there is safety even when every danger is abroad. 

Can we accept this promise as sure? 

Then in our present emergency we shall find that it stands fast. 

We hope to be delivered because we have friends, or because we are prudent, or because we can see hopeful signs...

But none of these things are one-half so good as God's simple "because thou hast put thy trust in me." 

Dear reader, try this way, and, trying it, you will keep to it all your life. 

It is as sweet as it is sure. 

~Charles Spurgeon~

Faithful And Useful

Psa 101:6  Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

If  David spoke thus, we may be sure that the Son of David will be of the same mind.

Jesus looks out for faithful men...

And He fixes His eyes upon them...

To observe them, to bring them forward, to encourage them, and to reward them.

Let no true-hearted man think that he is overlooked; the King Himself has His eye upon him.

There are two results of this royal notice...

First we read, "That they may dwell with me." 

Jesus brings the faithful into His house...

He sets them in His palace...

He makes them His companions...

He delights in their society. 

We must be true to our LORD, and He will then manifest Himself to us. 

When our faithfulness costs us most, it will be best rewarded; 

The more furiously men reject, the more joyfully will our LORD receive us.

Next, he says of the sincere man, "He shall serve me." 

Jesus will use for His own glory those who scorn the tricks of policy and are faithful to Himself, His Word, and His cross. 

These shall be in His royal retinue, the honored servants of His Majesty. 

Communion and usefulness are the wages of faithfulness. 

LORD make me faithful that I may dwell with Thee and serve Thee.

~Charles Spurgeon~

Complete Deliverance

Jer 39:17  But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.

When the LORD's faithful ones are suffering for Him, they shall have sweet messages of love from Himself, and sometimes they shall have glad tidings for those who sympathize with them and help them. 

Ebed-melech was only a despised Ethiopian, but he was kind to Jeremiah, and so the LORD sent him this special promise by the mouth of His prophet. 

Let us be ever mindful of God's persecuted servants, and He will reward us.

Ebed-melech was to be delivered from the men whose vengeance he feared.

He was a humble...man, but Jehovah would take care of him. 

Thousands were slain by the Chaldeans, but [he] could not be hurt. 

We, too, may be fearful of some great ones who are bitter against us; 

But if we have been faithful to the LORD's cause in the hour of persecution, He will be faithful to us. 

After all, what can a man do without the LORD's permission?

He puts a bit into the mouth of rage and a bridle upon the head of power. 

Let us fear the LORD, and we shall have no one else to fear. 

No cup of cold water given to a despised prophet of God shall be without its reward; 

And if we stand up for Jesus, Jesus will stand up for us.

~Charles Spurgeon~

“Our Heart Shall Rejoice In Him.”

Blessed is the fact that Christians can rejoice even in the deepest distress; although trouble may surround them, they still sing...

And, like many birds, they sing best in their cages.
 
The waves may roll over them, but their souls soon rise to the surface and see the light of God’s countenance...

They have a buoyancy about them which keeps their head always above the water, and helps them to sing amid the tempest, “God is with me still.” 

To whom shall the glory be given?

Oh! to Jesus...it is all by Jesus. 

Trouble does not necessarily bring consolation with it to the believer...

But the presence of the Son of God in the fiery furnace with him fills his heart with joy. 

He is sick and suffering, but Jesus visits him and makes his bed for him. 

He is dying, and the cold chilly waters of Jordan are gathering about him up to the neck...

But Jesus puts His arms around him, and cries, “Fear not, beloved; to die is to be blessed...

The waters of death have their fountain-head in heaven; they are not bitter, they are sweet as nectar, for they flow from the throne of God.

As the departing saint wades through the stream, and the billows gather around him, and heart and flesh fail him, the same voice sounds in his ears, “Fear not; I am with thee; be not dismayed; I am thy God.” 

As he nears the borders of the infinite unknown, and is almost affrighted to enter the realm of shades,
 
Jesus says, “Fear not, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Thus strengthened and consoled, the believer is not afraid to die; nay, he is even willing to depart...

For since he has seen Jesus as the morning star, he longs to gaze upon Him as the sun in his strength. 

Truly, the presence of Jesus is all the heaven we desire. 

He is at once “The glory of our brightest days; The comfort of our nights.” 

~Charles Spurgeon~